spanish wine scholar

Galicia is one of Spain’s most exciting wine regions and wine lovers are spoiled with all the options available to them. Located in Spain’s Atlantic Northwest, Galician wines are known for their freshness, with lots of crisp acidity and citrus flavors in the white wines and crunchy red fruit and floral aromas in the reds. Here are ten names to look for on your next trip to the wine shop.

Cosecha. Joven. Viejo. And the list goes on. Many wine-producing countries use local-language wine-related terminology without realizing their consumers are unaware of their meaning. Even native language speakers are sometimes confused by these terms as they are technical and/or relate to wine law. No need to worry! Below is your very own Spanish Wine Glossary (in alphabetical order) providing the top 25 wine terms you need-to-know to navigate Spanish wine.

Congratulations to Amy Karasavas, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Amy: Wine was a passion well before it was a profession. In 2018, I took the plunge and became a certified sommelier with the Sommelier Society of America. Soon

After nearly two years of hard work, we are thrilled to present the Wine Scholar Guild’s latest certification course… The Spanish Wine Scholar® (SWS) Program! The program officially launches in October of 2019, but it is already garnering significant attention around the globe.

Meet Jörg Philipp, founder of Degustar in Stuttgart, first wine school to offer our brand new Spanish Wine Scholar® program in Germany! Your company, Degustar, is based in Stuttgart, Germany but you also work in Shanghai, China. Can you please summarize all the activities offered by Degustar in Germany and in China?

Meet Paul Miles, educator at IWEG in Toronto, Canada.  School: IWEG Educator: Paul MilesLocation: Toronto Paul Miles has worked in both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industry for over twenty years, specializing in brand strategy, channel and trade marketing, strategic account and distributor management, as well as business development. He is a graduate of Bristol University in England and has an MBA from the University of Edinburgh Business School in Scotland. He has also attended the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD in France. In 2014 he completed the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits (Pass with Merit). What made you decide to move into wine and, more specifically wine education? Wine has always been an integral part of my life. I was born into a British family in the wine industry in the island of Madeira, Portugal...

Watch the Preview of the Spanish Wine Scholar Program, with Rick Fisher, Spanish Programs Director

In the search for a mapmaker for the Spanish Wine Scholar® program, I was somehow led to Quentin Sadler. I didn’t think it possible to find someone with the same love and passion for Spain as I have, but I sure did in Quentin! It was obvious that our collaboration on this program was meant to be. His work is incredible and we both are committed to making this program the gold standard in Spanish wine education. Quentin has more than 30 years in the wine trade and holds the Diploma from WSET. He is a passionate London-based wine educator, communicator, blogger, and mapmaker.

Congratulations to Max Branco Rossmark Schramm, SWS, for achieving highest honors in the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with Celebrare, Brazil. About Max: I am 26 years old and I’m a Civil Engineer. I ended up in the alcoholic beverages’ world through beer. My brother

Katrin Naelapaa has been serving as Wines From Spain USA’s director since 2001. Born in Mexico City, and having studied in Madrid, Katrin was so deeply connected to the Spanish wine and food culture, she was fortunate to find a smooth transition to the wine world from her original career in International Banking.

In this episode, we are chatting with Rick Fisher, Spanish Wine Scholar Education Director, about Sherry styles and getting a behind-the-scenes peek at the forthcoming Spanish Wine Scholar Program.

#thespanishwineguy joins the WSG team full-time A couple of months ago we introduced you to Rick Fisher, our Program Developer for the upcoming Spanish Wine Scholar® (SWS) program. By way of reminder, Rick is part Catalan with a passion for his heritage and a desire to educate others about Spanish wine and food. In his spare time, he has authored the blog Bodega: Eat. Drink. Explore. ESPAÑA!, whose aim is to further educate readers about the amazing wines and food of Spain.Rick has enjoyed a long career in finance and, over the past few years, found himself drawn to pursuing more credentials within the wine industry (He is currently a WSET Diploma student with Napa Valley Wine Academy). As a result of his passion for Spain and the wine business, he left his finance job last week in order to devote all of his time to the creation of our Spanish Wine Scholar® program, whose expected launch is late-2018.Q1. Rick, you just made a huge personal move, giving up a 20-year career in finance – to work full-time in the wine industry, more specifically to devote all your time to the development of the SWS program. How are you feeling about that decision?

Bordeaux. Burgundy. Barolo. Rioja. Just the mere mention of any one of these wine regions conjures images of the world’s best wines all sharing the ability to age for decades. The wines of Rioja have earned their place amongst this elite group; and whilst consumer tastes may swing like a clock’s pendulum, the practice of aging wines in Rioja helps define its successful past, present, and future.

As part of a partnership between Wine Scholar Guild and Decanter, we are pleased to share with our readers this article pulled from Decanter Premium. Try Decanter Premium for 4 weeks for just $1! More information HERE Robert Parker says a 100-point wine should be ‘as exceptional as a particular wine can be: a perfect blend of power, richness, texture, depth, length, balance, freshness, and of course a reflection of its vintage and terroir or origin’. Here are Parker’s most memorable 100-point wines.

At long last, we have begun development of our Spanish Wine Scholar program! The program is spearheaded by Rick Fisher, a San Diego resident of Catalan descent. Rick’s passion for his Spanish heritage and a desire to educate others about Spanish culture, food, and wine led him to create Bodega: Eat. Drink. Explore. ESPAÑA! (

Spanish Wine Scholar® launches in October 2019 and we are excited to announce the program has been endorsed by Wines from Spain, the public face of ICEX Spain Trade & Investment government agency.

Spain began linking wine to “place” early on. As far back as the beginning of the 20th century, the need for wine regulations became self-evident. The country was experiencing rampant wine fraud; quality wines were being diluted with bulk wine on a regular basis. Rioja was a leader in the charge for legislation to guarantee wine origin. In 1902, a Royal Decree defined the origin of its wines by establishing a geographical link between the name of a product and the place where it is produced. Just a little over two decades later, in 1925, the first Consejo Regulador (Regulating Council) was created in Rioja. In the years that followed, Jerez and Málaga also gained regional protection.

Congratulations to Thomas Branco Rossmark Schramm, SWS, for achieving highest honors in the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with Celebrare, Brazil. About Thomas:  I have always been a wine enthusiast. Since I was a young man, I liked to learn and understand about beverages

Are you ready to dive into one of the world’s greatest wine-producing countries? If so, our next Spanish Wine Scholar Instructor-Led course is about to start, and we would love to have you join us! If you still aren’t sure, then take a look at these ten reasons why you should be studying Spanish wine.